Molly Bloom's Soliloquy
Encyclopedia
Molly Bloom's soliloquy is presented in the eighteenth, and final, chapter of James Joyce
's novel
Ulysses
. It is a compilation of the thoughts of Molly Bloom
, the concert-singing wife of advertising agent Leopold Bloom
, whose wanderings around Dublin are followed in much of the book. Molly's physicality is often contrasted with the intellectualism of the male characters, Stephen Dedalus
in particular.
Joyce's novel presented the action with numbered "episodes" rather than named chapters. Most critics since Stuart Gilbert
, in his James Joyce's Ulysses, have named the episodes and they are often called chapters. The final chapter is referred to as "Penelope", after Molly's mythical counterpart
. One major difference between Molly and Penelope is that while Penelope is eternally faithful, Molly is not, having an affair with Hugh 'Blazes' Boylan after ten years of her celibacy within the marriage (though some critics, including Gilbert, point out that the celibacy of Penelope is questionable).
In the course of the monologue, Molly accepts Leopold into her bed, frets about his health, and then reminisces about their first meeting and about when she knew she was in love with him. The final words of Molly's reverie, and the very last words of the book, are:
Joyce noted in a 1921 letter to Frank Budgen
that "[t]he last word (human, all too human) is left to Penelope." The episode both begins and ends with "yes," a word that Joyce described as "the female word" and that he said indicated "acquiescence and the end of all resistance." This last, clear "yes" stands in sharp contrast to her unintelligible first spoken line in the fourth chapter of the novel.
Molly's soliloquy
(or interior monologue) consists of eight enormous "sentences." The concluding period following the final words of her reverie is one of only two punctuation marks in the chapter, the periods at the end of the fourth and eighth "sentences." When written this episode contained the longest "sentence" in English literature, 4,391 words expressed by Molly Bloom (it was surpassed in 2001 by Jonathan Coe's The Rotters' Club).
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
. It is a compilation of the thoughts of Molly Bloom
Molly Bloom
Molly Bloom is a fictional character in the novel Ulysses by James Joyce. The wife of main character Leopold Bloom, she roughly corresponds to Penelope in the Odyssey. The major difference between Molly and Penelope is that while Penelope is eternally faithful, Molly is not, having an affair with...
, the concert-singing wife of advertising agent Leopold Bloom
Leopold Bloom
Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and hero of James Joyce's Ulysses. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and intimate scale, those of Ulysses/Odysseus in The Odyssey....
, whose wanderings around Dublin are followed in much of the book. Molly's physicality is often contrasted with the intellectualism of the male characters, Stephen Dedalus
Stephen Dedalus
Stephen Dedalus is James Joyce's literary alter ego, appearing as the protagonist and antihero of his first, semi-autobiographical novel of artistic existence A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and an important character in Joyce's Ulysses...
in particular.
Joyce's novel presented the action with numbered "episodes" rather than named chapters. Most critics since Stuart Gilbert
Stuart Gilbert
Stuart Gilbert was an English literary scholar and translator. Among his translations into English are works by André Malraux, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Georges Simenon, Jean Cocteau, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre...
, in his James Joyce's Ulysses, have named the episodes and they are often called chapters. The final chapter is referred to as "Penelope", after Molly's mythical counterpart
Penelope
In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually reunited with him....
. One major difference between Molly and Penelope is that while Penelope is eternally faithful, Molly is not, having an affair with Hugh 'Blazes' Boylan after ten years of her celibacy within the marriage (though some critics, including Gilbert, point out that the celibacy of Penelope is questionable).
In the course of the monologue, Molly accepts Leopold into her bed, frets about his health, and then reminisces about their first meeting and about when she knew she was in love with him. The final words of Molly's reverie, and the very last words of the book, are:
"...I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the AndalusiaAndalusiaAndalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
n girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the MoorMoorsThe description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
ish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes. "
Joyce noted in a 1921 letter to Frank Budgen
Frank Budgen
Frank Budgen was an English painter acquainted with the author James Joyce. Born in Surrey, Budgen spent six years at sea before working in London as a postal worker. He changed jobs a number of times before travelling to Paris in 1910 to study painting, moving to Switzerland in time for World War I...
that "[t]he last word (human, all too human) is left to Penelope." The episode both begins and ends with "yes," a word that Joyce described as "the female word" and that he said indicated "acquiescence and the end of all resistance." This last, clear "yes" stands in sharp contrast to her unintelligible first spoken line in the fourth chapter of the novel.
Molly's soliloquy
Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters, and is delivered often when they are alone or think they are alone. Soliloquy is distinct from monologue and...
(or interior monologue) consists of eight enormous "sentences." The concluding period following the final words of her reverie is one of only two punctuation marks in the chapter, the periods at the end of the fourth and eighth "sentences." When written this episode contained the longest "sentence" in English literature, 4,391 words expressed by Molly Bloom (it was surpassed in 2001 by Jonathan Coe's The Rotters' Club).
Contemporary cultural references
- Molly Bloom's soliloquy was also used as the basis for a dance song by AmberAmber (performer)Marie-Claire "Amber" Cremers is a Dutch-German singer, songwriter, label owner and executive producer. She is best known for her hits "This Is Your Night," "If You Could Read My Mind," and "Sexual ."-Career:Amber's music career took off when one of her demos, "This Is Your Night" gained interest...
, titled "Yes." - The soliloquy is also featured in a Rodney DangerfieldRodney DangerfieldRodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...
movie, Back to School, wherein it is read aloud to a college English class by Dr. Diane Turner (played by Sally KellermanSally KellermanSally Clare Kellerman is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.-Early life:...
). - It was also the inspiration for the Kate BushKate BushKate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
song "The Sensual WorldThe Sensual World (song)"The Sensual World" is a song by the British singer Kate Bush. It was the title track and first single from her album of the same name, released in September 1989...
". Originally Bush had written the song to directly quote Ulysses, but Joyce's estate refused permission. Thus she rewrote the lyrics, but it still is very much about Molly Bloom's soliloquy. Bush's 2011 album Director's CutDirector's Cut (Kate Bush album)-Singles:The only single to be released from the album was "Deeper Understanding", originally the sixth track of The Sensual World. Its lyrics describe a relationship between a lonely person and a computer which has replaced human companionship....
includes a version of the track with the original Joyce text, entitled "Flower of the Mountain". - Part of the soliloquy is quoted by the character Molly Greaney in the Susan Turlish play Lafferty's Wake.
- The character Ralph Spoilsport (sounding very much like W.C.Fields) recites the end of the soliloquy as the last lines of the Firesign Theatre's album "How Can You Be In Two Places At Once (When You're Not Anywhere At All)"